During drilling operations for the extraction of hydrocarbons, a variety of measurement and transmission techniques are used to provide or record real-time data from the vicinity of a drill bit or within a wellbore following a drilling operation. Measurements of surrounding subterranean formations may be made throughout drilling operations using downhole measurement and logging tools, such as measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and/or logging-while-drilling (LWD) tools, which help characterize the formations and aid in making operational decisions. More particularly, such wellbore logging tools make measurements used to determine the electrical resistivity (or its inverse, conductivity) of the surrounding subterranean formations being penetrated, where the electrical resistivity indicates various geological features of the formations.
Downhole resistivity measurements may be taken using one or more antennas coupled to or otherwise associated with the wellbore logging tools. Logging tool antennas are often formed by positioning coil windings about an axial section of the wellbore logging tool, such as a drill collar. A soft magnetic material is sometimes positioned beneath the coil windings to increase the efficiency and/or sensitivity of the logging tool antenna. The soft magnetic material facilitates a higher magnetic permeability path (i.e., a flux conduit) for the magnetic field generated by the coil windings and helps shield the coil windings from adjacent drill collars and associated losses (e.g., eddy currents generated on the drill collars).